


Secrets

by Haesal



Category: Codename: Kids Next Door
Genre: AU, Drama, F/M, KND 274/362, Romance, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 18:27:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14502915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haesal/pseuds/Haesal
Summary: Chad would let himself slip and slide for that night; having his stupid feelings run faster than logical thinking. But not without keeping himself in check. Because Rachel was someone who'd just learned the woes of teenage dating, and he had his undercover priorities put first. Teens Next Door AU. 274/362.





	Secrets

_I haven't posted stories in a while. Sorry about that! Been really caught up in so many things with everything happening at the same time at the moment. It's honestly been the first time since I've been able to fluidly write again and I'm glad I've accomplished that with this story._

_I'm not entirely responsive in reviews but I've read those that have been posted in my other 274/362 so if you guys are reading this, then seriously, big thanks for liking and staying tuned with my works!_ ; u ; _It's gotten a bit difficult updating and stuff lately but I'm happy for still finding supporters of this ship and people who'd take time to read my fics. I still have so many ideas and I really do wish I'd be able to pen them/get on with writing out the plots._

* * *

**Teens Next Door Timeline**

**Genre: Romance, Teen Romance, Drama**

**Title: Secrets**

* * *

"Why are you here?" Her voice held on to a hardened tone so nostalgic to his ears and one he'd grown accustomed to ever since the first of their days manning the KND from a lunar standpoint.

An impression Rachel would often assume to assert control over situations which seemed to push her up against a wall. Yet at that moment, faltered with unrelenting strain in his ears.

He'd shifted on his heels, finding it difficult to stay in the same upright position for so long even with his supposedly comfortable shoes.

Chad leaned the broadness of his shoulders on the door situated at his back which seemed to act like an impenetrable force. His head of messy golden strands angled upwards, hitting against the mahogany surface in a quiet thud in its rest.

Blue eyes stared up straight at the ceiling, reflecting nothing but darkness from the unlit hallway fixtures caught within his irises.

"I'm not so sure either. Just had a hunch I should be." He'd stuffed his hands in his pockets, listening in stillness at the muffled sniffling coming from within the expanse of the room made inaccessible to him with its entry way locked shut.

"Then leave me alone and go back to wherever it is you came from." Her erratic breathing had reached a lull, reverberating raw in his ears the clear contempt from her words without a trace of the pained resentment so obviously overwhelming and picking at her apart merely seconds ago.

Rachel had successfully retreated to the confines of her mental restraint, constricting herself in a tightly winded coil.

Something characteristic, something that only made him momentarily crack a lopsided smile at the nostalgia of it all.

"Nah, I don't really have anything fun to do right now so I'm killing some time here."

The blonde boy hummed softly at the silence that followed, having to have expected his humor to hang stale in the air without so much as receiving a single huff of annoyance from her.

A look of nonchalant solemnness then veered on his face. His head fell back from its idle elevation with a heavy drop before pressing himself as close to the door as the shirt on his back would allow and crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"You're probably confused why I'm standing outside your room in the middle of the night off all things. I know, crazy right? The guy who tried to get your keister roasted in the sun's suddenly here breaking in your house." Chad started conversationally, taking in her silence without advice otherwise as a signal to continue.

"But if you let me in right now, I promise not to tell anyone. Stupid gossips about breakups aren't my jam. So, you can get your suspicions about that out of your head. I'm only here as someone that's looking out for you. Like old times."

The timbre of his voice had reduced to a hush, knowing full well that anything he said could only either break or make that moment.

Offering solace in subtlety; painstakingly making an effort at lowering the emotional barrier she'd forced to stand between them in careful considerate steps.

"…So, if somehow you still see me the way you did before, even just a little bit,"

Chad swiveled on his heels to directly face the burnished texture of the door, occurring in synchronization with the light shuffling coming from inside the room. He'd placed a hand on the knob, quickly taking note of the small shadow appearing by the door undercut and blocking the meager amount of light filtering from the room.

She was here, and he was sure she could hear him, loud and clear.

", why not share your pain with me?"

An unhinging click coming from the knob so audible in the quietness of the night answered his request. He'd motioned to turn the spherical object, but had been stopped short by the wide and sudden flinging of the door open along with catching a slight body thrown without caution in a bundle of uncontrollable sobs.

The force had caused him to lose his footing, toppling over and falling to roughly be sat on the floor whilst wrapping an arm on her waist and cupping the back of her head with his other hand in a moment of quick-wittedness, supporting her own descent.

"There, there, shh. It's alright now. I'm here." He'd began gently stroking her hair, always having been secretly finding enjoyment in the softness of the brownish blonde strands, more so now that it had grown much fuller and lengthened all the way to the middle of her back.

Rachel had clung onto him with a shaky grip, fully pressing herself flush on the comforting warmth of his torso. His leveled breathing seemed to be a knowing teacher, guiding her own to fall into the same rhythm with the calm rise and fall of his chest.

Like a tranquil lullaby putting all her disappointments to bed with its music conveyable by touch alone.

Her hands balled and fisted at the cloth of his shirt, burying her face on his sternum and straining to speak in between hiccups and stray tears.

"I can't believe you knew about this."

Chad merely gave a light shrug of his shoulders and busied himself with rubbing slow circles on her back. "News travels fast. Especially when I'm always around jockheads and gossiping cheer dancers."

She'd shifted so that her cheek was resting against his chest instead, only then becoming aware of the hardened muscles layered beneath his skin. A stark contrast against her own plush one. Yet it seemed to soothe her all the same, unconsciously leaning in further on his body at the odd sense of comfort.

"…I'm such an idiot."

The older teen scoffed and narrowed his eyes in return. "No, what's stupid is Andrew Baker thinking he's so cool and playing little heartbreaker, not you. Guy's way too blind for suddenly dumping you over some random bimbo." His face scrunched up in distaste at the memory of seeing a girl that wasn't Rachel unabashedly walking around campus and hanging off the arm of the guy whom he'd thought the blonde girl had been going out with for quite some time then. "Man, I don't even know what he saw in that chick. Girl looks like she's got her brain tinkered by aliens staring off in space and smiling creepily."

"Hmm…" He'd hoped to stifle a laugh from her or two, but that wasn't who Rachel was. Bad mouthing whoever it was that got on his wrong side comes as a natural part of his teenaged-influenced personality, but the girl who had now quieted down and snug fit in his arms had fairly retained her model conduct since childhood.

Spouting unnecessary insults towards someone for having herself end up with the short end of the stick wasn't her cup of tea, and the simple hum of her voice had been enough to express her thoughts to him. Promptly, Chad shifted the flow of discourse.

"Anyway, just don't sweat it. If you want, we can head over to that ice cream parlor you used to love so much when we were little. Stress eat as much as you need to and forget about that loser."

The rapid jolt of her body away from his had caused him to follow her eyes with his gaze, finding himself inflexibly staring at calm emerald brown orbs exuding a kind of hardness in their molten depths.

"Wouldn't Stacey have your head cut if she sees you together with another girl?

It was a look that had always seemed to puzzle him. Her lips were perfectly set in a straight line, obscuring any hint of happiness, sadness, or even anger. The only clue left for him to decipher were her eyes filled with what he could only describe was detached iciness seemingly prosecuting him for a crime he had no idea he'd committed. God knows just how many times he'd seen this expression cross her face and the consequent cold shoulder he's had to deal with for weeks on end while struggling to maintain a working relationship in handling Global Command. Every time, unfailingly ruining each one of his after-work dates with the passive aggression almost always caught in the same time frame as his special dinners and just further worsening his mood.

So, he'd opted to cup the back of her head and yank it downwards back to his chest, reminding himself of his self-imposed purpose to comfort the girl and to suppress his irritation.

"I can do whatever I want— _when_ I want. Stacey doesn't have a say on who I want to see and make crazy assumptions."

"You shouldn't have had a girlfriend in the first place." She'd mumbled, and he'd glanced down at the crown of her head. Minor seduction was sometimes part of the dirty job of being an undercover agent and Chad himself wasn't exempted from the unlikable task, with a certain brunette cheer dancer being a crucial asset in providing intel about the Teen Ninjas. The very same one whose had her eyes set on him for a while now, making his job all the more easy to execute. It wasn't that he'd intended to keep that tidbit of information from Rachel, rather, there was never a chance for her to find out herself especially with their awkward and ambiguous relationship. In the first place, he'd figured she wouldn't even garner anything useful from knowing that he was playing boyfriend for the sake of a mission.

"I know what I'm doing, little missy. Worry more about your own love life and stop going out with douche bags."

Those stone cold hazel eyes reduced into angered slits. "If you can date around then so can I."

Chad forced to drive away the scowl growing on his face. Whether his gut-feeling was accurate or not, he was certain that all the irritation spiking on his nerves was not without reason. This girl _almost_ _seemed_ to be provoking war with him, with relationship savviness and experience apparently being the basis of competition.

And the simple thought of it was enough to tip his mood, disabling carefully monitored filters in his head.

The arm with the hand smoothing through her hair suddenly encircled around the midsection of her head, before pulling her rigidly close and smothering her snug on his body. Her protesting yells were lost in the fabric clothing his skin, along with sound momentarily taken from her by the arm blocking her ears.

"Can't believe I'm in love with such a handful of a girl." He'd mumbled softly and she'd given him a look of disbelieving confusion upon release, failing to understand the reason behind the crushing hold. The words explaining his actions were entirely lost and gone, with only that hallway illuminated by the light seeping through her room to account for his secret affections.


End file.
